Putin proposes joint Russia-US cybersecurity group

The group would investigate Russian election meddling and other cybersecurity matters.

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During a recent summit in Helsinki, Russian President Vladimir Putin pushed an agenda that would see the US and Russia working together as allies.

Putin's call for the two countries to work side by side comes just days after the Department of Justice indicted 12 Russian intelligence officials for their involvement in the 2016 Democratic National Committee hack.

However, the Russian president was not dismayed by this and decided to revive talks of a joint group between the US and Russia dedicated to cybersecurity matters. Trump previously endorsed such a plan in a tweet sent last year.

President Putin noted that a joint working group between the two countries would be the ideal place to discuss election meddling, saying:

“Once again, President Trump mentioned the issue of the so-called interference of Russia [during] the American elections and I had to reiterate things I said several times… Any specific material, if such things arise, we are ready to analyze together. For instance, we can analyze them through the joint working group on cyber security, the establishment of which we discussed during our previous contacts.”

When President Trump first brought up the impenetrable cybersecurity unit with Russia last year, he was met with opposition from both parties and ended up suggesting his comments on the idea were hypothetical.

If a joint cybersecurity group is actually formed between the two countries, it is unclear as to what the US would gain from such an arrangement. Given the opposition faced by President Trump last time he suggested the idea, it will be quite difficult for the group to get the approval necessary from the US Congress.